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Cillian Murphy (see more)

Cillian Murphy
Striking Irish actor Cillian Murphy is the oldest child of teacher parents. He has three younger siblings. Murphy was educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. He went on to study law at University College Cork, but dropped out after about a year.
During this
time Murphy also pursued an interest in music, playing guitar in
various bands. Upon leaving University, Murphy joined the Corcadorca
Theater Company in Cork, and played the lead role in "Disco Pigs",
amongst other plays.

Various film roles followed, including a film adaptation of Disco Pigs (2001). However, his big film break came when he was cast in Danny Boyle's 28 días después...
(2002), which became a surprise international hit. This performance
earned him nominations for Best Newcomer at the Empire Awards and
Breakthrough Male Performance at the MTV Movie Awards.

Murphy went on to supporting roles in high-profile film such as Cold Mountain (2003) and La joven de la perla (2003), and then was cast in two villain roles: Dr. Jonathan Crane aka The Scarecrow in Batman Begins (2005) and Jackson Rippner in Vuelo nocturno
(2005). Although slight in nature for a villain, Murphy's piercing blue
eyes helped to create creepy performances and critics began to took
notice. Manhola Dargis of the New York Times cited Murphy as a
"picture-perfect villain", while David Denby of The New Yorker noted he
was both "seductive" and "sinister".

Later that year, Murphy starred as Patrick "Kitten" Braden, an Irish transgender in search of her mother, in Neil Jordan's Desayuno en Plutón (2005), a film adaptation of the Pat McCabe
novel. Although the film was not a box office success, Murphy's was
nominated for a Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical and
he won Best Actor for the Irish Film and Television Academy Awards.

The following year, Murphy starred in Ken Loach's El viento que agita la cebada
(2006). The film was the most successful independent Irish film and won
the Palm D'Or at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Murphy continued to
take roles in a number of independent films, and also reprised his role
as the Scarecrow in Christopher Nolan's El caballero oscuro (2008). Nolan is known for working with actors in multiple films, and cast Murphy in Origen (2010), as Robert Fischer the young heir of the multi-billion dollar empire, who was the target of DiCaprio's dream team.

Trivia

He used to play in a Frank Zappa-influenced band called 'Sons of Mr. Greengenes' with his brother.

Has two sisters, Sile and Orla.

First name pronounced "Kill-ian". Not "Sil-ian".

He was planning a career in law until he discovered the world of acting.

Although he is a vegetarian, he learned to chop up meat in an abattoir for his role as butcher in La joven de la perla (2003).

Auditioned for the role of Batman in Batman Begins (2005). The role was eventually given to Christian Bale. But director Christopher Nolan
liked Cillian's audition so much that he gave him a role as Batman's
enemy Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow, who is a developing character in this
movie.

As of 2006 he is the most nominated Irish Actor at the Irish Film and Television Awards with 6 nominations.

He greatly admires actor Liam Neeson. Looks at him as a surrogate movie dad.

He is fluent in French and Gaelic.

Had been pegged to play the lead in the independent movie, Once (2006). This did not materialize when he was hired for another project. Instead, the role went to Glen Hansard, the person who created the songs for the film.

Playing the part of "Beane" in the play "Love Song" - London. [January 2007]

He is a fan of Doctor Who.

Is an avid fan of video games.

Agreed to a cameo in Tron: Legacy (2010) because he is a big fan of the original Tron (1984).

Personal Quotes

I'd probably have been wealthier if I had stayed with law, but pretty miserable doing it.

"It's basically lazy journalism if they say I'm the new Colin Farrell. This thing about heat, it's all just hot air".

You're an actor who's Irish, not an Irish actor. And you shouldn't
be limited by your extraction. On breaking the Irish type cast.

"Well, the first part of the question, I think if you ask any male
if you really want to get into a real suit, that was a dream come true
obviously and then just to get to work with Chris even for that little
test was amazing as well and then I don't know, he saw something in it
that he thought maybe he could use for the other characters" - On
auditioning for Batman Begins (2005).

"I can have a bit of fun with it, too, because my only motivation
really is being bad. I love doing proper dramatic character studies, but
it's also good to have a but of fun, dress up and stuff". - On
accepting the role of the Scarecrow in Batman Begins (2005).

"Well, we are doppelgangers." - on that Howard Stern nearly played Scarecrow, Cillian's role in Batman Begins (2005), in an early attempted adaptation.

If there's an opportunity to work with Ken Loach,
you can't really turn that down. He's made some of the finest films of
the past 25 years. Whether you like or dislike his movies, there's never
a bad performance in them, ever. There's none of the bullshit. There's
no trailers, no nonsense, no pampering. It's a breath of fresh air.

It's easy to take the check, you know, but if you want to have any
longevity, just take things that have artistic merit in them. I want to
do quality. If it's good telly, I'll do it. If it's good theater, I'll
do it.

I've a very, very close-knit group of friends from Ireland. They and my family are the most important things to me.

I don't know if anyone will ever sit beside me on a plane again. - on his role as a terrorist in Vuelo nocturno (2005).

Journalists have a myopic view of your versatility. They're like 'You only play the creep'.

If you behave like a celebrity, then people will treat you like a
celebrity, and if you don't, they won't. There's not much to write about
me in the tabloids.

Today I pick and choose my films very carefully. There's nothing
I've done so far that I can't talk about with commitment and passion.

But you can make wonderful films within a small, independent
environment and you can make wonderful films in Los Angeles, within the
studio system. You hear a lot of actors saying, 'I'd never go to
Hollywood and sell out.' But, if it's a good script and a good director,
why not? To shut oneself off completely is, I think, very limiting.

Too many filmmakers today are trying to put their work into a box.
I can't stand that! Making movies is a lot of work. Let's take some
risks.

"To me, someone's sexuality is usually the least interesting thing
about them. It's secondary. The only reason it becomes a source for
dramatic storytelling is because people have made such an issue out of
it." (about his character in Breakfast on Pluto)

I'm not worried about being pegged, but it's important for me to knock down any perceptions of me that are out there.

I think there's such a thing, as a performance gene. If it's in
your DNA it needs to come out. For me it originally came out through
music, then segued into acting and came out through there. I always
needed to get up and perform.